Day 76: Of Ghosts and Miracles

HaydnCD76My first destination this morning was the new Tim Horton’s near our home. I went in, sat down, remarked to myself how much fun it’ll be to listen and write from a different location (not to mention eat different food and drink different coffee).

Then, I thought, “I’d better check to see if their Wi-Fi works before I order.” I set up my laptop, searched for a signal…

And found none.

I asked the gal behind the counter if they have  Wi-Fi (since their signs indicate they do). She told me Wi-Fi wasn’t available yet.

So I packed up and left.

I’m back at Panera Bread.

But that’s okay. It’s good coffee and good food and – like Cheers – everybody knows my name.

As I listen to Haydn’s Scottish Songs for William Napier III, I gaze out the window to witness yet another blizzard. I observe the people around me (including the very animated lady ahead at a table on the left chatting about her latest Bible study) reading, eating, laughing.

A minute ago, a friend sent me the URL to this WestJet Christmas Miracle video, which I watched, tears streaming down my face.

This line was especially meaningful to me:

“A WestJetter would say it was more than mere fun. Miracles do happen when we all work as one.”

Indeed.

There’s a tie-in between the WestJet stunt and today’s CD of folk songs written for William Napier. Continue reading

Day 75: Half Way!

HaydnCD75Today marks the half-way point in my exploration of the music of Joseph Haydn.

Tempus fugit, eh?

The songs on Haydn CD 75 are a continuation of the ones on CD 74: Scottish Songs for William Napier. Only difference is today’s CD is titled Scottish Songs for William Napier II.

The story of what Haydn did for Mr. Napier is quite extraordinary. I wrote about it yesterday. Take a look when you get a chance.

There are 33 tracks on today’s CD. But the total running time is only about 63 minutes. I’m not math whiz. But when I cipher that ratio is comes out to less than 2 minutes per song.

Screen Shot 2013-12-14 at 7.37.47 AMTrack 1 (“Duncan Davison”), for example. At just over one minute, it’s a wee song. But a fun, bouncy way to start the CD.

“They call him Duncan Davison,” sings tenor Jamie MacDougall in a Scottish brogue so heavy you’d swear he was wearing the traditional belted plaid during his performance.

Track 2 (“Be kind to the young thing”) is another MacDougall performance, thought not as jaunty or fun.

Track 3 (“Had awa frae me, Donald”), performed by soprano Lorna Anderson, is one of the best tracks on this or any previous Scottish Songs For [fill in the blank] CD. Her voice is lilting, and poignant, and wistful all at once. So very, very pretty. This could be Anderson’s finest moment in these Scottish song CDs. Favorite!

I’m going to see what these lyrics are, what they mean. “Had awa frae me” means nothing to me at t his point, although I have an idea. To learn more, I Continue reading